The present invention relates generally to the delivery of air within vehicles and more particularly but not exclusively to a system capable of delivering heated or cooled air at different temperatures to different regions of a vehicle
Vehicle air-conditioning systems are well-known in the art. They usually take the form of a combined heating and cooling system, which can draw air in from outside at the front of the vehicle and re-circulate air from inside the vehicle. Heating is performed by a heat exchanger using engine heat, and cooling by an evaporator which is part of a refrigeration system. The air is moved through the system by a fan or blower, the speed of which may be varied, and is output into the vehicle interior through one or more nozzles or other openings at the front of the passenger compartment. Air blend controls are operable by the vehicle occupants, or by an automatic control system to vary the interior temperature of the vehicle. Similar heating systems are known in which no evaporator is present.
Known systems have the drawback of being unable to maintain a suitable temperature throughout the entire interior vehicle space. For example, it is common for the occupants in the front of the vehicle to feel warm but for the occupants in the rear of the vehicle to be too cold because the warm air is sent only into the front of the vehicle and therefore the majority of it has cooled before it reaches the occupants in the rear of the vehicle. Similarly, if a temperature below ambient is chosen by the front-seat occupants, often the rear of the vehicle will not be sufficiently cooled and will therefore be uncomfortable for its occupants.
It is desirable to provide a heating, cooling, or air-conditioning system for a vehicle which can distribute air to several parts of the vehicle to provide a comfortable environment for all occupants. This is especially important in multi-purpose and sports-utility vehicles having at least two rows of rear-seat passengers.
Although it would be possible to modify known systems by merely providing additional ducting to the rear of the vehicle, this would not overcome the problem. A major need, that for increased temperature at the foot level of rear seat passengers, would not be met by merely providing additional outlets to the rear, because the front occupants would have to endure too high temperatures. Secondly, the length of additional ducting would undesirably throttle the fan output at the rear outlets, and to overcome this with sufficient air flow to the rear would inevitably lead to too much air flow in the front. There is thus a need for additional measures.
Furthermore, since many air-conditioning systems distribute air at only one temperature at any one time, it is common for the occupants"" feet and bodies to be warm, whilst the area at head level tends to become stuffy and uncomfortably hot. Conversely, if the temperature is set to be cool enough to be comfortable at head level, the occupants soon begin to feel cold, particularly at floor level. It is known that comfort is best achieved when warm air is delivered around the floor area, with a supply of cooler air at head level.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to at least partly mitigate the problems of the prior art.
It is an object of certain embodiments of the invention to provide separately controllable temperatures or air flows in different regions of a vehicle interior.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a system for supplying air to first and second regions of a vehicle passenger compartment, comprising a first fan, a heater device, and first and second air conduits, said heater device having an air inlet and first and second air outlets, said first fan having an inlet for drawing air into the system and a fan outlet, said fan outlet being coupled to said inlet of said heater device to supply air thereto, said first and second outlets of the said heater device being coupled to said first and second air conduits for supply thereby of air to said first and second regions of the said vehicle wherein said second air conduit is connected to said second air outlet of said heater device via a second fan operable in use to selectively supply air through said second conduit to said second region of the said vehicle.
Preferably the system further comprises an air duct, said air duct housing an evaporator and a blend control device, and said air duct defining a mixing chamber and a bypass conduit, said evaporator having an evaporator inlet and an evaporator outlet for air cooled by said evaporator, said evaporator inlet being coupled to said fan outlet of said first fan, said evaporator outlet being coupled to said mixing chamber via said bypass conduit, and being coupled to said heater device inlet, said heater device first outlet being coupled to said mixing chamber to supply air heated by said heater device to said mixing chamber, said blend control device being disposed at the evaporator outlet for controllably obturating said bypass conduit and at least a portion of said heater device inlet to control thereby the temperature of air in said mixing chamber.
In a second aspect the invention comprising a system for supplying air to first and second regions of a vehicle passenger compartment, comprising first and second fans, a heater device, and first and second air conduits, said heater device having an air inlet and first and second air outlets, said first fan having an inlet for drawing air into the system and a fan outlet, said fan outlet being coupled to said inlet of said heater device to supply air thereto, said first and second outlets of the said heater device being coupled to said first and second air conduits for supply thereby of air to said first and second regions of the said vehicle, said second fan having an inlet and an outlet, said outlet of the said second fan being coupled to the second conduit and said inlet of the said second fan being coupled to the said second outlet of the said heater device whereby the said second fan is operable in use to selectively supply air through said second conduit to said second region of the said vehicle, the system further having a further air inlet connected to the fan inlet of the said second fan, whereby air from outside the system may be inlet to said fan inlet of the said second fan.
Preferably the system further comprises an inlet conduit connecting said inlet of the said second fan to said second outlet of the said heater device, said inlet conduit defining said further air inlet between said heater device and said second fan.
Advantageously the inlet conduit has valve means for selectively opening said further air inlet.
Conveniently said valve means is operable to variably select between air from the said heater device and said air from outside.
In a further aspect, the invention provides a vehicle having a passenger compartment, said passenger compartment having at least first and second regions, and a system for supplying air to said first and second regions, the system comprising first and second fans, a heater device, and first and second air conduits, said heater device having an air inlet and first and second air outlets, said first fan having an inlet for drawing air into the system and a fan outlet, said fan outlet being coupled to said inlet of said heater device to supply air thereto, said first and second outlets of the said heater device being coupled to said first and second air conduits for supply thereby of air to said first and second regions of the said vehicle, said second air conduit being connected to said second air outlet of the said heater device via said second fan, whereby the said second fan is operable in use to selectively supply air through said second conduit to said second region of the said vehicle, wherein said inlet of the said first fan is selectively provided by first and second air intakes, said first air intake being disposed outside said passenger compartment whereby air is drawn in from outside said vehicle and said second air intake being disposed within said passenger compartment whereby air may be recirculated.
In yet a further aspect there is provided a vehicle having a passenger compartment, said passenger compartment having at least first and second regions, and a system for supplying air to said first and second regions, comprising first and second fans, a heater device, and first and second air conduits, said heater device having an air inlet and first and second air outlets, said first fan having an inlet for drawing air into the system and a fan outlet, said fan outlet being coupled to said inlet of said heater device to supply air thereto, said first and second outlets of the said heater device being coupled to said first and second air conduits for supply thereby of air to said first and second regions of the said vehicle, said second fan having an inlet and an outlet, said outlet of the said second fan being coupled to the second conduit and said inlet of the said second fan being coupled to the said second outlet of the said heater device whereby the said second fan is operable in use to selectively supply air through said second conduit to said second region of the said vehicle, the system further having a further air inlet disposed within said passenger compartment, said further air inlet being connected to the fan inlet of the said second fan, whereby air from said passenger compartment may be recirculated by the said second fan.
Preferably said second region is a rear region and said first region is a front region of the passenger compartment.
In yet another aspect, the invention comprises a vehicle having a passenger compartment, and an air conditioning system for delivering air into said compartment, said vehicle further comprising an auxiliary air conditioning system, said auxiliary air conditioning system having an air inlet, an evaporator, a fan and an air outlet, said air inlet being disposed to draw air in from the interior of said passenger compartment under the action of said fan, and said air outlet being disposed to supply air cooled by said evaporator to a head region of said passenger compartment.
In a further aspect there is provided a vehicle having a passenger compartment and an air conditioning installation, the passenger compartment having a front seat region and a rear seat region, the air conditioning installation having first outlets in the front seat region and second outlets in the rear seat region, wherein a first control device is provided for providing a desired temperature in the front seat region, and a second control device is provided for providing a desired temperature in the rear seat region.